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air emissions impact News

Traffic emissions cause a number of damaging chemical changes in the atmosphere. A recent study has estimated the impact of road, aircraft and ship emissions on the atmosphere's chemical make-up in terms of ozone and the hydroxyl radical OH. Traffic emissions form a large part of EU air pollution and are the subject of climate change policy1. Ozone pollution in the troposphere adversely affects ...

Researchers have developed a new model to assess the health-related external costs arising from air pollution from ten major emission sectors. Applying the model at national and Europe-wide levels, they suggested that the major contributors to costs were industrial power production, agriculture, road traffic and domestic combustion. In recent years, policy action to reduce emissions has targeted ...

The EU’s Nitrates Directive has led to significant decreases in nitrogen pollution in Europe, a new study suggests. Modelled scenarios with and without implementation of the Directive showed that it had resulted in a 16% reduction of nitrate leaching by 2008. These improvements could be further increased as implementation becomes stricter, the researchers conclude. More nitrogen is applied ...

Recent research has investigated the effectiveness of air quality management at the regional level in Italy and found that some of the most commonly adopted measures do not always produce the highest emissions reductions. Italian air quality legislation was reformed in 1999 in order to comply with the 1996 European Air Quality Framework Directive1. At the time, the 20 Italian administrative ...

PM2.5 air pollution can have a significant impact on human health, not only for local populations, but also in regions far from its source of emission, shows a new study. The study calculates ‘damage factors’ to human health of PM2.5 and in different parts of the world. PM2.5, made up of any particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, is emitted from various sources, ...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed stronger standards that require facilities that produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to reduce emissions of harmful toxics, improving air quality and protecting people’s health in communities where these facilities are located. Exposure to toxic air pollutants can cause respiratory problems and other serious health issues, and can ...

Hydrocarbons are precursors to hazardous air pollutants including ozone and particulate matter. Hydrocarbons from diesel make up over 50% of all hydrocarbons in the air in London, a new study has found. The authors also estimate that they contribute up to half of total ozone production potential in London, and say future air quality control strategies must focus more on these pollutants. Around ...

The negative effects of acidic deposition in Europe and North America on natural ecosystems have been reduced significantly over the past decades, but the impacts of nitrogen on ecosystems are still persistent. This is evident from research results presented in a recently published book written by nearly 100 experts from 15 countries, entitled ...

A new report by the David Suzuki Foundation, "The Cost of Exporting Liquid Natural Gas", has reinforced the views of the Gitga'at First Nation that plans to export LNG from the proposed Kitimat plants through the traditional territory of the Gitga'at could have human health impacts on local air sheds. The nation also has serious concerns about greenhouse gas emissions associated with burning ...

BRUSSELS, Belgium (ENS) - The European Commission today proposed legislation to bring greenhouse gas emissions from civil aviation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The proposed directive will cover emissions from flights within the EU from 2011 and all flights to and from EU airports from 2012. Both EU and foreign aircraft operators would be covered. Like the industrial companies already ...

An independent report finds the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme will produce important benefits for air, water and land, as well as for the climate. There will also be some challenges to manage. Climate Change Minister David Parker says he welcomes the report, prepared by a team led by the Cawthron Institute. The report identifies the high-level environmental impacts of the ...

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves capturing carbon dioxide released by power stations and other industrial sources, and burying it deep underground. But in addition to keeping an important greenhouse gas (GHG) out of the atmosphere, this technology will lead to benefits and trade-offs for air pollution. A new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) describes the effects that CCS ...

The Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) will present ”Air Quality Impacts of Oil and Gas Production in the Rocky Mountains,” September 15-17, 2009, in Centennial, CO. This conference will explore the potential effects of oil and gas exploration and production activities on air quality in the Rocky Mountain region.”Don’t miss the chance to strategize with environmental commissioners, air ...

Health impact assessments (HIAs) provide information on the potential health impacts of policies, and are important for developing regulation on air pollution. In this study, researchers evaluated the metrics currently used in air quality HIAs to provide recommendations for their use in policy. Clean air is important for human and environmental health. Over recent decades however air ...

A study released on January 22 suggests the environmental damage caused by rich nations on poor nations exceeds $1.8 trillion, while the impact of poor nations on their richer counterparts is less than one third of that amount. The study is the first-ever global accounting of the dollar costs of countries' ecological footprints. The study, led by former ...

Levels of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere are linked to ammonia emissions. However, reducing ammonia emissions only as far as targets set out by the Gothenburg Protocol will not necessarily ensure compliance with EU PM limits, according to a new study. Greater reductions in ammonia emissions would reduce the number of days when PM limit values are exceeded, the researchers found. In ...

The report’s erroneous finding that modern corn ethanol actually increases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to gasoline is completely predicated on the baseless assumption that additional corn demand for increased ethanol production will cause conversion of large amounts of grassland enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Thus, like several other highly controversial studies ...

The Department of Environmental Protection this week alerted companies involved in unconventional natural gas development across Pennsylvania that they must submit to the agency data on their facilities' air emissions for 2011. The reports are due March 1, 2012. "The use of natural gas for fuel will have very beneficial impacts on air quality, ...

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